1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure is generally directed to child monitor systems, and more particularly to a system that has at least one receiver or parent unit capable of monitoring two or more transmitters or child units.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional child monitor systems typically have a receiver or parent unit and a transmitter or child unit that communicate with one another. The transmitter is typically placed in the room or environment of the child and the receiver is typically placed remote from the child's environment in a room or location of the parent. The transmitter conveys or transmits audio signals from within the child's environment to the receiver. Some child monitor systems come with two or more child units. However, in a typical child monitor system, the parent unit is equipped to only receive signals from one child unit during use, not both. In such systems, a parent must typically select which child unit to monitor by setting or positioning a selector on the parent unit. The receiver typically can not monitor both child units during use.
A child monitor system is provided by SAFETY 1st and is known as the “Home Connection Monitor System No. 08038.” This system is provided with three child units and two parent units. Each parent unit can operate in one of two selected modes. In a first mode, buttons on each parent unit can be pushed to select one of the three child units to monitor. In a second mode, a button on the parent unit can be pushed to enable automatic sequential and repeated monitoring from one child unit to the next. In this mode, the parent unit monitors each child unit for three seconds before changing to the next child unit. This system will continuingly monitor each child unit for three seconds and then move on to monitor the next child unit.
The SAFETY 1st system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,098,785, which and discloses the system as having a receiver capable of operating in a first mode for sequentially announcing the transmitted audio from the transmitters and a second mode for announcing the transmitted audio from a selected transmitter. Thus, this patent describes a system that can operate in one mode where the parent unit monitors only a selected one of the child units and in another mode where the parent unit monitors each of the child units in a sequential periodic fashion. The SAFETY 1st system parent unit includes separate indication light for each of the three child units. The light for a particular unit being monitored at any given time is illuminated. In each mode, the SAFETY 1st system can only monitor one child unit at a time, regardless of the mode of operation, so there is no difficulty determining which child unit is picking up audible sounds heard at the parent unit.